This. Is. It.

Today is my last day living in Barcelona.  I'm feeling strange about this one.  I have so much to look forward to once I get home but I am still feeling strange!  I love Barcelona so much.  The city is amazing-- today, after four months, I still saw new things.  Also, I love the challenge of living in a different culture.  This whole semester has been completely amazing.

Today, I went to the beach with Sarah and two of our other friends.  It was a different beach than the touristy one so that was cool (not as many people wandering around selling things: massages, beers, etc.).  Then, we met up with Dana and had lunch, returned our cell phones and now I have to pack.

Here are my last photos from Barcelona...

Okay, well, I guess I'm off to pack and then basically on the plane (I leave tomorrow morning).  Thanks for reading my blog, everyone.  And I'm looking forward to seeing all of you when I get home!

Hasta luego!!

Life Lessons from Barcelona

Here are some of the most important things I've learned in Barcelona, in no particular order but I have a thing for numbered lists.

1) Do what you love.  This one sunk in when I was waiting in line to enter the Sagrada Familia.  I was watching a man busking (buskers are street performers.  This man was playing a guitar) when I had a revelation: this man is doing what he loves doing.  This is not always the case with buskers but this guy wasn't very good and still seemed to be enjoying himself.  He's probably making enough money to get by and every day he gets to do something he loves.  So the moral of this one is to be happy... support yourself but don't feel like you have to earn money to meet societal norms and standards.

By the way, some people who started out busking (according to Wikipedia) are: Bob Dylan, Steve Martin, Jimmy Buffett, Robin Williams, Cirque du Soleil and The Blue Man Group.  For more information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busking 

2) Accept a culture for what it is (not what it's not or how it compares to another one).  The culture here is far different from in the US.  Back home, I'd never think of having tomato spread on toast for breakfast or take my time doing nearly everything rather than bustling around.  I probably wouldn't try chicken liver or walk by a stand in a market selling sheep heads without giving it another look.  But Barcelona isn't in the US so I have tried to embrace all of these things.  I don't put my napkin on my lap, I use a piece of bread as an edible utensil, I wear a jacket and scarf when it's over 60 degrees.  Besides my eating, walking, and dressing habits, my ideas have changed too.

3) Be flexible.  You can't predict that your bus won't come or that you're going to wind up with lamb ribs on your plate for dinner (sorry, I obviously have a food obsession) or that you're going to wind up walking into a rally or see some fascinating street performance.  Take the interesting road, not the one you'd planned on taking.  When you're walking and something catches your eye, check it out.  Turn down that windy street or stop to watch people dancing, buy a pastry from the delicious bakery (here I go again) and snap a picture of the door painted a brilliant turquoise if that's what floats your boat.

Okay, okay, this door was in Italy.

4) Really, it's not going to matter if you're a few minutes late (did I just say that?!?!).  Take the time to appreciate where you are and the moment you're in... you'll only be in a moment once so make the most of it.

5) Whatever you do, do it right... no regrets.

Sarah doing it right at a Barca game (it took a few tries but she got it!).

7)  One last thing since I know this list is probably boring but... EAT MEAT!  As a former vegetarian, I know I would have hated hearing this only a few months ago but it's kind of a metaphor.  Being open to food (or, on a larger scale, the culture) means that you can order anything on the menu and eat it (I'm losing track of this metaphor and am probably only thinking like this because I'm starving but... when you're open to whatever comes your way, you'll always be able to give it a shot and who knows when you'll try something delicious or, um, do something life-changing!).  Okay, now that I have figured that metaphor out, I'm going to go count the minutes until dinner.

Cheers, everyone! 

Winding Down

Well, I will be home in two days.  The end of my time in Barcelona has been full of doing work, laying in the sun, and wandering around the city.  Today, after our exam, Sarah and I set out to do some final shopping.  We wound up walking for a very long time and decided to get some sangria to celebrate the end of our long day.

Here are some photos:

Really beautiful tiles that we both want in our kitchens when we're grown up (which, for me, begins in a few months, I guess!).

The back of Santa Caterina Market.

Sangria time.

Feria II

Last night, Sarah, Dana, and I convinced our other roommate Emilia to come out with us.  It was her first time going out at night since she got here.  We decided to go back to the Feria de Abril to see what it was like at night.  First, though, we put on our matching earrings (yes, we are that cool!) from St. Jordi's Day.

Sarah and Emilia on the bus.

Dana and me.

Chocolate con churros.

Roommates!

Now, a little story... when were in the elevator going back home, Sarah said "Oh, I'm so tired."  Dana, "Me too!"  Me, "I feel exhausted; I can't wait to go to bed."  And then, Emilia "I feel so happy!"

Our night was a success!

Feria de Abril

Every year, Feria de Abril is held in Sevilla (southern Spain).  This is basically the April fair.  It is held in the end of April, about two weeks after Easter.  It lasts for six days, during which people don't go to work.  Tents are set up by different organizations, like political parties and charitable groups, as well as just restaurants where you can eat and where people dance flamenco.

Barcelona also hosts a Feria de Abril.  There is a carousel, flamenco dancing, food stands, stands selling homemade foods, and there are also some souvenir stalls.  It is a very cool experience.

The strip.

Ferris Wheel.

Cooking up a storm.

Dancers.

The outfits.

Candy.

Dried fruit.  Check out the kiwis!  And those are whole pears next to them.

We find LOVE

Yeah, that title is stolen from a Dave Matthews Band song but I'm quoting it because it's perfectly applicable.

Don't get your panties in a knot... I haven't found some fantastic Catalan novio (boyfriend) with six days to go until I come home.  No.  I have found La Diada de Sant Jordi! 

Today, April 23rd marks Sant Jordi's Day (Saint George) AND the death dates of both Cervantes and Shakespear in 1616.  As legend has it, Sant Jordi (who died around 300 CE) slayed a dragon to protect a princess.  Where the dragon's blood fell, a rosebush grew.  He picked one of the roses and gave it to the princess.  So this holiday has been celebrated for centuries with men giving roses to the women they love.

 Then, in 1923, a Barcelona bookseller decided that the day could also commemorate the deaths of Cervantes and Shakespear.  So, now, traditionally, men give roses and women give books except it's permissible to give anyone a book (or rose, I suppose).  This is a really nice day.  It's an official work day but almost everyone takes off and walks around.  There are rose and book stands all over the city and so many people wandering around.  It's really gorgeous. 

Sarah, Dana, and I walked around for a few hours.  We bought matching leather rose earrings, a book for our host dad, and a rose for our host mom.  When we got home, our host dad had put a rose on each of our beds!  So sweet!

Photos!

The stand where we got our earrings.

Some flowers.  See the green ones?? 

There are 24 hour readings of Cervantes.  

Rose.

The epitome of the day.

So, Sant Jordi is my new day!  Forget about Valentine's Day!  I'd rather have books and roses than chocolate and roses.  Plus, what's the story behind Valentine's Day anyway?  What I do know for sure is that it doesn't include a dragon!

Also, today was my final Spanish class here.  We had our exam and then had a party afterward.  My Spanish class is a really close-knit group of people and my Spanish teacher is awesome.  We all brought in snacks and framed a picture of our class for our teacher.  Then we spent an hour dancing to youtube videos (Slumdog Millionaire, the Macarena, Cotton Eye Joe, Souljaboy, the Sardana-- Catalunya's national dance, and so on).  This was an excellent time and a little bittersweet because my Spanish class was always such a fun time. 

It is amazing that this semester is nearly over.  I have five days left here and a ton of studying and other stuff to do before I go. 

You've Got to be Livin'!

As I mentioned in my last entry, I have taken up yoga once more.  Now, kids, this isn't your grandma's yoga!  Truth be told, if a proper yogi saw me doing yoga, they would probably be horrified beyond belief but it's fun... yoga, Sarah-style.

Here's what happens: I put on some kickin tunes (Bob Marley, Michael Franti, Dispatch) and do some sun salutations.  These are pretty routine... what I've done in yoga classes.  Except that there is a mirror hung right where I am facing so, since I have great difficulties being serious, when I catch my eye in the mirror, I wink and do a little dance.  Well.  I am not a good dancer so this makes me laugh so I am doing Warrior II and cracking up.  I know that I am missing the mind-body-spirit connection here but laughter is good for the soul and I'm convinced that you can Laugh Your Way to a Six Pack™  (title of the fitness book I'll be releasing in September, 2010; titled Reir a una Tableta de Chocolate for Spanish-speaking countries. Coming soon to a bookstore near you).  This continues throughout my yoga session.

I have found some kindred spirits though!!  Except, sadly, they apparently do not listen to music whilst doing laughing yoga.

My Kind of Day

Today, I took a "me" day.  When I was in school (aka pre-k through 12th grade), I would sometimes take "mental health days" where I would stay home for no reason other than that I needed a break from school and I would read or watch movie or go on excursions with my mom.  (Clearly, I was a sensitive kid, taking mental health days when I was four.)

Today's "me" day-- title updated from the mental health day-- did not involve missing any classes.  It was a beautiful day-- sunny and about 70 degrees though a bit windy.  I had a two hour break between my morning and afternoon classes so I took that time to sit in Plaza Real, read (The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver) and eat lunch, get chocolate and blackberry gelato (unfortunately this was not nearly as delicious as it sounds), and to wander around an old part of the city for a while. 

Where I ate lunch.

So as I was walking around the city, I kept on saying in my head "I really, really love it here!" and I really do.  This has been a perfect place to spend four months of my life and I have fully enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, I had to return to school for a class in the afternoon.  While sitting in a class which had the potential to be interesting, I decided that I would do yoga once I returned to my apartment.  As I was sitting on the bus, I saw that the sky was getting very dark.  And I started to get excited because a thunderstorm makes almost every day exponentially better.

I got into my room, opened the sliding glass door, put on some yoga-esque clothes, pushed my bed aside, rolled up the rug (kidding about that one), put on some Bob Marley, and did some yoga.  This was absolutely splendid!  Best of all, as I was doing my yoga, the cloud darkened even more and crash-boom-BAM!  Thunderstorm!  

Oh yeah!  I also had my Spanish presentation today.  The Bruce photo previously posted here went over VERY well and my teacher was very impressed that I loved Bruce.  Just about everyone here loves The Boss.  It's almost like being in New Jersey!